Shinigami's Death
by Shinigami's Kaizer
Summary: One of the pilots has been hurt, will he survive?. Angst. Major deathfic.


Death

Disclaimer:I do not own Gundam Wing, but it is nice to dream.

Author's note: They say that almost dieing brings people together, well if that is true then the G-boys are almost the same person. I wrote this story because I wondered what would happen if one of the pilots died.I now that most of the pilots are a bit ooc, but this is after the end of the first serise and everyone has time for their masks to crack a bit.

I would also like to add that I do like Duo.He is one of my favorite people in Gundam Wing.So don't flame me.Flame me and I will feed it to my resident teething kitten.

Death

Duo was resting quietly on the hospital bed.His deathly pale face was framed by his dark hair and his bright violet eyes were closed as he slept off the operation. Watching over him as he slept was the G-boys, Relena, Sally, Noin, and Zechs.

"Will he be all right?" asked Heero his normally hard and empty voice was soft and concerned.

"He has a hole in his side the size of a basket ball, internal injurys, third degree burns, and has lost alot of blood.I doubt he will live through the night." said Sally her voice sounded tired.

"If Duo hadn't deflected that beam we would all be dead now...." said Zechs quietly

The four boys narrowed their eyes at the memory.

Flashback.

The last of the Whitefang had used the blue prints for the Libra's main cannon to build a ultimate cannon. With its power it had the abiltity to blow up the earth, thankfully it took up so much power that it could only be used once.

So Gundam pilots went back into space with their Gundams in the hopes of destroying it before it was complete.Sadly their source had lied to them.The cannon was fully operational, and waiting for them.

They had sent Duo in to scout around while the rest attacked the front defense of mobil suits to keep the enemy busy.Duo's warning reached them to late.

"Oh god.Guy's you have to take that cannon out **now!Its prepairing to fire!"**

No answer came from his hail.

"Guys look out!!"

"What?"Heero and Quatre turned around just in time to see a large beam of power making its way toward them.For a moment the four boys knew what a deer feels when it is traped in the head lights of a car.

Then Duo was there.He closed the Deathsythe Hell's wings just as the beam reached them.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!"all who had heard Duo scream would never forget the desperation in that cry, but the shielding on the Deathsythes wings did the trick.The beam was deflected slightly, it went hurtiling through space destroying most of the enemy tarus suits and then ending by harmlessly hitting a passing astroid, completely destroying it.

"You did it Duo!" cried a happy Quatre

Silence.

"Duo?" Worry was creaping through the edges of Trowa's mask.

The empty void of space.

"Duo, you baka, if this is a joke..." threatened Wufei

The darkness of oblivion.

"Duo come in." Heero, too, was starting to feel the icy hand of fear.

The peace... of death.

The Deathsythe Hell floated past them.Completely without power and with no hand at the helm. As it turned the boys could see the damage that beam had done, the area were the pilot was housed was half disinagreated, and inside they could see Duo limp in the pilot seat.

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The Gundams towed the tattered remains of the Deathsythe into Peacemillion's bay.

"Sally!Get over here with your medical team.Duo's hurt!"Wufei's voice was heard all over the bay.

Heero leaped up to the Deathsythe's main hatch and started to pry away the half melted remains so the med team could actually get to Duo.

The pain twisted metal was sharp and strong and Heero could feel the its teeth as it bit into his flesh as it fought him for the life of its pilot.Trowa came up to help as did Quatre, Wufei was busy helping Sally and the doctors,finally with an agonizing screach of surrender the metal moved and they could finally could see all of Duo's limp form. 

He had not moved in position during all this time and it didn't look like he was moving at all.The boys could see that there was a hole in Duo's side that was bleeding profusely, his helmet's glass was covered with a spider web of cracks, and he was as still as death.With little difficulty they managed to pull the helmet off reveal Duo's pale face.Theblood that crawled sluggishly down the side of his face gave off such a sharp contrast to the whiteness of his face that it had the effect of a shout.

Carefully Heero placed his fingers to Duo's neck and waited.Several heart beats passed with no movement or sound and then he felt it, a faint flutter of life beneath his fingers.

"He's alive!" shouted Heero to the waiting med techs.Carefully the three boys pulled Duo out of the now broken shell that was the Deathsythe and handed him over to Sally.

All four of them felt hope race through their bodies, Duo was strong and he could survive this.

End of Flashback

"Can we see him?" asked Quatre

"Yes." said Sally "What ever you do, don't try to wake him, that will only shorten what is left of his life.If he does wake up on his own try to keep him calm, it may help him live longer.He may be a bit confused at first, but it is only the pain killers."

Dead quiet the boys filed into the hospital room.Relena, thinking that the boys would want to be alone with Duo, turned to leave with Sally and the rest. Heero turned slightly, and noticing that Relena had not followed them, grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.She was the physical form of his soul and he wanted her near him.

Duo's frightfully pale skin seemed to blend into the white bed sheets, making him almost invisible.The boy's love for life and humor had left him, and now all that remained was a used and shrunking husk.He seemed so small now, none of the normal life that seemed to follow him every were, even in the worst possible conditions, was anywhere to be seen.It almost hurt to look at him like this.

Heero's hand, which still held Relena's, tightened almost to the point of hurting Relena and he pulled her closer to him.The four boy's eyes met, they had never thought Duo would be the first of them to die.

Duo was the most innocent out of all the Gundam pilots, even Quatre.They had all thought that Heero would be the first to go, then maybe Trowa, and then a coin flip between Quatre and Wufei.None of them had even thought of Duo.He was the most mentaly stable and had learned to live with death.Heero himself still felt the hand of fear every time he killed.Sadly it looked like it would be Duo who would be the first to fall into the hands of the God of Death, ironicly the same person who Duo named himself after.

A soft noise coming from the bed pulled the boys from their thoughts.Duo was waking up.He stirred slightly and then opened his eyes and looked at them all.

"Hey guy's, whats up?"He asked quietly, his voice still slightly slurred and harsh from the pain killers.

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Despite Sally's prediction of death for the first day Duo was still alive three days after he got hit by that beam.

That day everyone was visiting him, the G-boys, Noin, Sally, Relena, Catherine, and Zechs.They were talking and having a great time.Hope was high that he was recovering well and might be able to leave the hospital in a few weeks.Duo himself was able to laugh without pain or fear that he might weaken himself and enjoyed ever time that the opertunity to laugh came up.

The talk went from many subjects, like Noin and Zechs wedding to how the preventers were doing and what was Duo going to do when he got out of the hospital.To soon, though, Duo found himself fighting off an intense weariness.The exhaustion he felt held down his limbs, draged at his eye lids, trying to force them to close, and weighed heavily on his lungs making each breath a battle.He tried to stay awake, after all every one was here just to see him. He did his best, but the more he fought the more tired he felt.He could feel the fingers of some dark abyss trying to pull him in as it flowed around its heart forcing it to become still, crawling into his mind and filling it with a dence fog that made thinking strait almost impossible, and filled his ears with the most gentle of songs trying to coaxes him into its waiting embrace.Duo soon found that it was beyond his power to fight any longer and took one last look at all his friends, the only family he had ever known, then let himself fall into the darkness that was beckoning him so sweetly. 

Few of the group noticed how tired Duo was and, at first, none of them noticed when Duo lost his last battle.The one battle that could never be won.

"What do you think Duo?" asked Trowa watching a fuming Wufei

"I would not look good in pink Trowa!" stated Wufei sharply but Trowa wasn't listening anymore.

"Duo?" The tone that Trowa used made everyone look at Duo.

Duo wasn't moving.

He wasn't breathing.

He was still and quiet on the bed looking as peaceful and innocent as a child in sleep and, as they watched him the one thing that they would remember for all time, on his face there was the faint smile of pure, untainted happiness.

"Sally?" asked Quatre afraid that he already knew the answer.

Sally moved to the edge of the bed and placed her hand at Duo's neck.

"Jim," she called to one of her med staff her voice strained.

"Yes mam?" asked Jim answering

"Put this in the logs: Duo Maxwell died on March 3rd, 196 AC.Cause of death, beam strike to the side. Lived three days after the fatal wound was inflicted."

"Yes mam." Jim left. 

For a few moments there was nothing but a stuned silence, then Howard entered.

"Well it was hard but we finally repaired the Deathsythe Hell, when will Duo be able to pilot it?"

Tears started to flow down Relena's and Catherines faces, Heero pulled Relena into his arms and hid his face in her hair, not wanting to face this new hurtly life had thrown at him, Catherine went to Trowa, who held her tightly and let her cry into his shirt and tears started to flow down his mask wich was starting to crack, Wufei and Quatre could just stare in disbelief, Sally went over to Wufei trying to help him, Noin hid her face in Zechs' shirt, and Zechs just held her.

It was Zechs who answered Howard.

"He won't need ever it again."__

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_"My people are in the world again.No sorrow will live in me as long as that joy-- save one, and I thank you for that too.Farewell, good magician.I will try to go home."_

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_The Last Unicorn page 244_

_by Peter S. Beagle_

End.


End file.
